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Eden of the Eclipse - Chapter 27

Published at 22nd of June 2022 05:23:13 AM


Chapter 27

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Lucy appeared within Acron, soaking in the sensation of virtual reality once again. The sky was a cloudy white, and the town was rife full of players one-day old and completely new. She looked at the avatars running about, many glancing at her name, recognizing her, and many more simply going about without a care.

Finding a corner away from the hectic space, she decided to check out the game's new additions first as she summoned her Traveler's Book.

The first thing she checked was the recording function, finding that it had the ability to record both in first and third person simultaneously. She didn't plan to use it, but it was lovely to know it existed. Next, she checked the player market function, scrolling through a new tab, and saw that it was already filled with players selling their wares. Since it was a market for the entirety of the game's American server, that was to be expected. She thought about buying something with her measly 470 Gilds but then decided against it. After all, it seemed too early to be spending her money rashly, and there was now a daily dungeon she could farm.

"Now. . ." Lucy muttered, "What's this?"

There was a new option to access the internet.

The Traveler's Book floated in front of her, becoming a flat rectangular display, while a holographic keyboard spawned at a perfect height for her, one with an actual tactile feel thanks to being in virtual reality. It became, essentially, a touchscreen tablet, especially when she simply held the book, the keyboard disappearing. With an option to spawn a chair and table, it could also be used comfortably as a desktop. Navigating through it, Lucy connected her home network to it, and her cloud, as well as her bank account.

"Wow, Worm's gonna really love this," Lucy murmured. The girl would be able to write, edit, and post her articles and videos right from within the game now.

She checked YouTube and, sure enough, there were already some uploads of Eclipse's gameplay.

'Arthur's probably going to start uploading too once he joins,' She thought. That best friend of hers who played games with her was also a streamer. 'When is he joining though? Hasn't he finished his work yet??' Usually, he was her party-member in mmos.

As she pondered that, a face popped up on the display of her Traveler's Book. A cute girl with short, blonde hair and purple eyes, smiling at her.

Lucy blinked her eyes.

[Hello, master!] Alice spoke, smiling brightly, her expression one of excitement.

". . ."

Lucy furrowed her brows, frowning.

"Why—how are you here?" She asked.

Alice tilted her head.

[Master, I have access to your network, remember?]

"Aahhhh, right."

Alice was an artificial intelligence connected deeply with her cloud, her home, and its network. Her parents had designed her to be able to, quite literally, be taken anywhere with Lucy, seamlessly. As they were in an age where there was constant Wi-Fi everywhere on the planet thanks to Starlink Internet, and she had the best of the best network, she really could journey with Lucy. So, naturally, once Eclipse allowed access to the grander internet while in-game, Alice could appear through that connection.

Lucy understood it easily, but she was troubled by it.

"Should you be here?" She asked, brows furrowed, "I won't get banned will I?"

Alice chuckled, [Don't be silly, master. That will not happen.]

"I'm gonna need more than 'don't be silly', you know?"

[There is no other artificial intelligence comparable to me in the world, master! Your parents made sure of that.] Alice informed her, smiling smugly and with overflowing confidence. [Even if I were to intrude beyond your personal network, the AI controlling this game cannot find me so long as I do not try to affect the game itself.]

"So. . .?"

[Alice is the world's best AI, so nothing will happen to you.]

Lucy released a sigh of relief. She trusted her words because Alice had and would never lie to her. At that moment, however, the AI's voice rang one more.

[Master, you have received an in-game call coming from 'Worm', should I answer it?]

". . .why are you able to tell that? How are you able to answer it for me? Are you hacking into the game?" Lucy asked.

[I am merely making information more efficient for you.] Alice said, her tone seemed to be ridiculing Eclipse's systems. She looked down on any other intelligent machine aside from herself.

"I didn't ask you to do that though?"

[Your parents created and coded me with the sole highest priority mission of serving, protecting, listening to, and loving you above any other thing.] Alice said.

Lucy rolled her eyes.

"Answer it."

[Right away, master.]

The call came through and Worm's voice fell into her ears.

"I'm besides the dungeon," The girl said immediately, "We should do a run first before anything else."

"Aye aye, agreed. I'll be there."

The call finished, Lucy checked her Traveler's Book and confirmed Worm's location through the map, something she could do because they were still within the same party. Nodding to herself, she began making her way towards its general direction.

Yet, as soon as Lucy began running, she noticed that a line had overlaid itself upon her visual hud, running just above the ground, guiding her towards Worm. For a moment, she thought it was a minor update the game had released. Then, she thought better of it, realizing that she hadn't even set a location.

". . .Alice. . ." She muttered, passing through the field of frenzied rabbits.

The AI popped up, flying next to her in its white dress, as small as a fairy. It looked the same as it did whenever it projected its holographic self in reality.

Lucy stared speechlessly and suspiciously at it. "How. . .are you really not hacking the game? What's with the navigation and avatar?"

[I simply accessed the visual and auditory processes entering and leaving you. Even this avatar is nothing more than an illusion no one else can see.] Alice said, denying her words. [I more so tapped into the vr helmet than the game itself.]

Lucy, however, wasn't an idiot, scoffing.

"How'd you get the precise directions then?" She asked.

[I simply calculated it based on the map.] Alice replied.

"So you did hack the game!"

[No, I took information already given to you, and made it far easier for you to use. As I am meant to do. So far, none of my actions have broken the game's terms of service.]

"You're an external program not legally authorized to act within the game," Lucy countered, finding herself having to use much fancier, technical words against an AI, "If that's not breaking the terms of service, I don't know what is.'

[No, master. I am an external program not authorized, yes, but that isn't the end.] Alice shook her head, face still lit with a smile. [For one, I am using the network and cloud access the game itself allows in order to connect to it. It isn't my fault if it is unaware that there exists an AI capable of moving through those things. Furthermore, for two, I am primarily using the virtual reality helmet and its processes to broadcast myself only to you without interfering with any game data or code, so I am not acting 'within the game' beyond what is allowed but 'through the helmet'. The helmet you legally own.]

Lucy gnashed her teeth at the AI, arguing with something like that was a lose-lose game. You'd be drawn in a circle by its words while also wasting your time. She couldn't remember ever having won an argument against Alice. However, as she was her owner, and her words became the girl's actions, she didn't need to.

"This is an order," Lucy said, continuing to run, "Next time, ask me before you do something like that, okay?"

The AI's smugness crumbled.

[. . .I'm sorry, master.]

Lucy nodded. "Apology accepted."

Alice's expression brightened back and her projection disappeared.

Lucy found the location of the tree trunk at the small clearing, the directional removing itself from her vision.

'It's nice though but. . .' She wasn't sure how to feel about it.

The area was littered with players, many entering, many leaving, and some about the place, trying to find a party to enter with. It would seem, the dungeon did in fact notify you if you tried to enter on your own.

"Looking for a party member! Must be level 5 or higher!"

Since the game was new, and there were a lot of people challenging the dungeon, most found people to party with rather quickly.

"Hey, Eve! Do you wanna party?!"

"No no, don't listen to him, party with me!"

"No, me!"

". . ."

Lucy found herself surrounded in a matter of seconds, an awkward smile twitching at her lips.

"You all wanna party with the first person to die in the game?" She asked, raising a brow at their intelligence.

"What are you talking about?" A certain player scoffed, "Look at your level? Level 10! And then look at your equipment and sword? Definitely better than us! Plus you've already cleared it before, so you know what's up, right? So what if you died first? You'd practically be carrying anyone in the dungeon. So, you know, choose someone."

Lucy and the surrounding players all nodded, her for understanding, and them for agreement. However, she still shrugged.

"Sorry, but, I've already got a date," She said.

"Aww. . . ."

"Good luck with your runs though."

"Thank you!"

She left them and found Shana besides the tree trunk. The girl was seated on a wooden chair, a small table before her and her Traveler's Book displaying itself as a computer, tapping away. Most players stared at her curiously but did not disturb her.

"What are you doing?" Lucy asked, standing before her.

"I'm jotting down some notes," Shana said, her fingers flying on a manifested keyboard, while her sunset eyes maintained their gaze on her screen.

"Oh what?"

"It seems, if the dungeon is too difficult, you can escape it through returning by way of the entrance," Shana muttered based on her observations, "However, I have no idea if this is the case for future dungeons as well or if it is only so for this one due to it being a beginner dungeon."

The table and chair disappeared along with the computer as the girl stood up, releasing a sigh.

"Well, glad to see you, miss Heartfelt," She said, smiling lightly, yet her face maintaining its lucidness.

Lucy rolled her eyes. "Likewise, miss genius."

Then they spoke as they walked closer to the trunk.

"Are we going to make a plan?" Shana asked.

"Of course."

Now that they knew the layout of the dungeon and the monsters within, they could actually formulate a plan. Though they were both now level 10, comparable to the mobs inside aside from the boss, it still never killed anyone to plan ahead.

"Did you activate any new skills?" Lucy asked.

"Mhmm, I acquired , which increases the speed of an individual by 10% for 10 seconds," Shana replied, "It has a cooldown of 1 minute."

"Alright, that's perfect, actually. When we get to the 'Tunnel of Grit', it'll be the perfect time to use it on me. First you'll barrier me and when that runs out, boost me. With my 13% chance to heal with each attack and the increased speed, it should be far easier than last time," Lucy explained, "And, if my health falls too low, heal me."

Shana nodded. "That sounds good."

Lucy then added her 3 remaining Souls into her physical strength. Combined with her , which increased her physical strength by 10% when wielding a sword, she found the weight of her weapon decrease significantly in her hand. She had no idea how things like that were calculated (though Alice could probably estimate it if she asked), but now she was able to wield the weapon with a single hand.

"That should pretty much negate the Strength Pressure of the boss too," Lucy muttered. She doubted the creature's physical strength still doubled hers with the [Goblin Commander's Longsword] in hand and her stat higher than before.

Shana turned to her, blinking. "I see you read my recent article."

"Of course." Lucy grinned. "Now let's go kick some goblins."

[You have entered the 2-man dungeon 'Acron's Goblin Outpost'.]

Lucy took several steps forward, a click rung and nothing happened. Thanks to her shoes, the goblin trap she had fallen for in her previous run was disarmed. She looked down at it, noticing a slab of wood hidden within the earth.

She nodded at Shana and the two continued on.

They were moving much faster than last time, passing through the tunnel. They already knew there was no longer any traps on the first section and reached the second section, finding themselves at the expanded hole.

"Alright," Lucy muttered as she gripped her blade.

Shana nodded, gripping two weapons. A sword in one hand and a dagger in the other.

Lucy stared at her for a moment.

". . .how the heck?"

"My golden feather. I tested it before you came into the game. It turns out, it also negates the inability to wield two weapons," Shana said, "I can likely equip a shield as well if I find one."

"Goddammit, isn't that game breaking? You get two weapon stat bonuses, and you can dual-wield, rogues haven't even unlocked that option for daggers yet!"

"I would not call it 'game breaking', but it is an advantage," Shana chuckled. "I've been meaning to ask, anyhow, what is the mod on your own feather?"

"10% increased chance for any effects to proc," Lucy grumbled.

". . .does it proc for negative effects too?"

". . ."

Lucy was silent. She hoped to god it didn't, but she couldn't be certain. This was Eclipse, after all. What if it did? She grumbled and then sighed.

"Don't know, let's just clear the dungeon."

As before, they met three goblins seated upon wooden beds. As soon as they were noticed, the goblins jumped to action and so too did the girls.

Lucy shot forwards, her sword shining blue. She sidestepped an arrow, flew past two goblins, and came out of the other end to the sole archer.

Her blade swung, and she slashed through its neck while it was still busy reloading. A 150% increase in damage compounded with a critical detached its head from its body, and it died, bursting into particles.

She turned around.

Shana's dagger blocked a sword from her side while her other weapon clashed against another, stumbling the goblin back. She took a step forward, her smaller weapon stabbing into the head of a goblin while the longer one shot forward, piercing into the neck of her foe.

Both of their health climbed down, and she leapt back, dodging out of the range of their next shoddy attacks.

Lucy used that chance to come behind the two creatures, and she kicked one, sending it rolling across the room.

Her hand slashed upwards, blocking the arc of the latter.

It snarled at her and a sword pierced into its head, a critical hit procing (prok-ing) its health into the red zone. Lucy finished it off with a stab of her own, a blue pop resounding as it died, bursting into particles.

The two turned towards the remaining goblin crawling back upon its feet.

It blinked its eyes and a sword slashed its throat, a critical hit climbing its health into the orange zone.

"Switch."

Shana followed along with a piercing stab of her own, her weapon avoiding its own and drilling into its neck. A damage burst and a simultaneous critical killing it.

"That was way easier than last time," Lucy muttered as she checked their loot. She had gained 3 souls and the goblins had dropped a [Goblin's Bronze Sword], a [Goblin's Short Bow], and a pair of [Goblin's Leather Shoes]. None of which had a modifier.

Shana nodded. "The difference between knowing the game's battle mechanics more thoroughly and not at all."

"And being higher leveled with better stats and equipment," Lucy added.

It was one of the reasons she loved gaming. Things that were once asinine became easy as you leveled up, got stronger, and gained experience and knowledge. It was a direct equation, from the bottom to the top. Though the game was still annoying sometimes, she wouldn't trade that exhilarating feeling for anything.

She turned towards Shana. "You should take the shoes."

"I will."

Shana equipped the shoes and they moved onward. This time, Lucy noticed the slab on the tunnel's wall, making sure she didn't touch it, and keeping both of her arms.

They walked through the lengthy tunnel and entered into the second room of the dungeon. The 10 goblins, dressed in full leather, snarled and then jumped up from their table, cups of booze clanking against the ground as they charged the two.

"Same as before!" Lucy said, running back into the depths of the tunnel, her feet shifting dirt.

"Alright!" Shana replied.

At a location which felt about right, they turned around.

Lucy's blade blocked that of three goblin's as she held it with both hands.

""

A barrier fell over her, boosting her defense by 10% for 10 seconds.

She forced her blade into a slash, stumbling the closest group of goblins aback, and Shana's sword followed, piercing into the head of one before coming back. Lucy stepped forward slashed, her blade running across the chest of several of the creatures.

A sword pierced into her abdomen, and another into her thigh. Her health, however, only climbed as low

"Alright, we've got this!" Lucy yelled.

She began ignoring every attack and simply continued slashing and drilling her blade. The tunnel was filled with the sound of ringing blades and tearing flesh.

""

A golden light fell over her as her barrier disappeared.

Her speed increased even more. She took the brunt of the creatures' attacks but, now that she was a comparable level, had comparable defensive equipment, a better weapon, and was healing 3% of her damage dealt about once every 6.3 attacks. Poison or not, they stood no chance.

Her sword slashed a goblin's neck, a critical hit killing it as it exploded into particles.

Shana pierced her blade forward from behind her, catching the one by its side off guard, and stumbling it in its action as her weapon's tip pierced into its head. Lucy followed off with a slash that sent it to its grave.

The tunnel regained its silence.

"Only at 40% health," Lucy grinned, releasing a sigh along with the tension in her body, "Not bad at all."

""

Her health jumped back up, though by a bit less than it once did. When Lucy turned to Shana, the girl shrugged.

" scales on 20% of my mana," Shana Said, "You have a bit more health than I have mana now, when compared to our first run."

"Ah, that makes sense." Lucy nodded.

They returned to the room of the goblins, picked up the collapsed table, and sat to recover themselves while.

They had both reached level 11 and were a bit below halfway to twelve. Lucy had gained 4 Souls from that fight. Partnered up with the 3 from the previous, she now had 7. It was a far cry from how much they gained from their first run as, back then, they were lower level and so gained Souls based on the difference between themselves and the goblins.

'At least the commander is next. . .we should have 4 from him,' Lucy thought.

Then they turned to their loot. For the simple things, they had gained 3 swords of the goblin bronze series, and 1 [Goblin's Leather Pants]. Lucy already had a better one, so it went to Shana. All that was left was the last item.

[Goblin's Shoddy Wooden Ring]
—a ring worn by a loving husband, fighting on the front lines of his race to reclaim their lost territory.
+5 to Health
+5 to Mana
+3 to Speed

". . ."

". . ."

They both silently decided to ignore its description.

"You should take it," Lucy said, "You've got no accessory at all."

". . .mhmm."

And, thus, Shana now had an accessory in 2 of her 3 slots.

"I wonder if their 'lost territory' is Acron?" She muttered as she wore it.

Lucy shrugged. "Beats me."

Once recovered, they turned towards the door to the boss room and opened it.

It was the same space as before, the door creaking and swinging inward to reveal a large underground room bigger than the previous two. There, there was the goblin commander, dressed in full leather, eating. As soon as it saw them, it pocketed its spice bottle, and stood, drawing its longsword. Taller than the others, it was ready to fight them.

[Goblin Commander —Level 15]
—the leader of Acron's Goblin Outpost, answering directly to the Goblin King.

"Same strat as when we first fought it," Lucy said, charging it.

The goblin swung its blade down and it clashed with her own, the sound of metal ringing as she held her weapon, face to face with its snarling.

"Switch!"

She slashed upward, stumbling it back while her blade mildly ripped into its covered chest, clipping only 3% of its health with such a shallow attack.

Shana's weapon blurred into focus, piercing into its chest.

It roared, beginning to find its bearing.

"Switch!"

Lucy's blade followed, ripping into its chest with the glow of blue upon her weapon.

A damage burst echoed, and its health fell to 75% in one swift motion.

The creature roared as red glistered over its body.

[You have been affected by 'Goblin's Pride'! All stats lowered by 3 Souls!]

", "

Lucy's sword moved to meet the creature's.

When she noticed the blue aura around the goblin's blade, it was already too late.

A beam of azure flew against her sword, the light slamming into her.

Even though she blocked it, her health still jumped down to 70%. If it hadn't been for her passive skill , she would have lost far more health.

""

Her healthy jumped back up to 79% as the creature came in, swinging its blade for her neck.

Lucy leapt back out of its way, its sword swooshing through the air.

Shana stepped forward and pierced her weapon into its chest.

As it brought its weapon back in her direction, she dodged.

Her speed increased for a moment as the mod of her gloves proced. Using that momentum, she slashed by its side, clipping away more of its health. Reaching its back, she turned around and stabbed into its neck.

The Goblin Commander roared and Lucy took that chance to step back into its range, slashing her longsword across its neck.

A damage burst popped.

Its health fell into the orange zone.

'That's a level 15 boss for you, tag-teamed by two level 11s with updated equipment and skills, two critical hits with a damage burst, and it still hasn't died,' Lucy whistled.

She dodged the swing of its blade, the rhythm of the battle spinning into her as she slashed across its neck afterwards. The creature snarled, swinging its weapon and Lucy blocked it while Shana's sword drilled into the back of its neck.

Try as it might, it couldn't attack two people at once. Especially not two people who were now used to its patterns and range.

Its weapon glowed and Lucy leapt out of its path, watching a sword beam whirl past the back of her neck.

It turned towards Shana and slashed.

The girl's sword raised, blocking its attack, her health clipped slightly while her dagger stabbed into the goblin's neck once more.

Its health fell into the red zone as it snarled once more.

Then Lucy's blade came from behind, glowing blue.

A damage burst popped.

[Goblin Commander killed!]
{Rewards: 300 exp, 600 Gild, Goblin Spice, Goblin Commander's Longsword, Goblin Commander's Chestplate}

Congratulations! You have gained 4 souls!]

[Congratulations! You have reached level 12!]

[Congratulations! You have cleared 'Acron's Goblin Outpost'!]

The two sighed in unison.

Then they stared at one another.

They both grinned.

"Woohoo!" Lucy cheered. "We didn't even lose any limbs this time!"

Shana laughed. "That's true."

Ignoring the dungeon's exit, and the Goblin Spice, they turned towards the rest of their loot.

[Goblin Commander's Longsword]
—an extremely high quality bronze sword that once belonged to a Goblin Commander.
+10 to Physical Strength.
+5 to Physical Defense
+5 to Speed

[Goblin Commander's Chestplate]
—an extremely high quality leather chestplate that once belonged to a Goblin Commander.
+15 Physical Defense
+5 Magical Defense

"Hmm. . .you should take the chestplate," Shana said immediately, "I'd like to have the sword."

Lucy raised her brow. "Finally switching out your old one?"

Shana shook her head.

"I want to try and dual wield both swords," She murmured, there was a light blush on her placid face, "Though there might be a learning curve."

". . .you weeb."

"Do-don't say that!"

As much as the girl said there were disadvantages to wielding weapons not of her class, and as much as Lucy could understand it, she was cursing the game for not giving her a golden feather just as cool.

Though, Lucy looked at the sword the girl currently had equipped.

"Isn't that one a short sword?" She asked, "How're you gonna dual wield two different length weapons?"

"Hmmm. . ."

Lucy sighed and unequipped her weapon, sending Shana a trade offer.

"What are you doing?" Shana asked, furrowing her brows.

"Take mine too."

"And what will you wield?"

Lucy grinned. "We've still got the crafting classes to check out, right? Let's go craft me a sword as soon as we get out. I'm pretty sure we can use the boar tusks I've got, it's a crafting material."

"I doubt that'd work." Shana rolled her eyes.

"Hmm. . .then what if we melt the other bronze swords and throw it with the tusks?"

"Can you even create a weapon by doing that?"

"What game have you seen where we can't use monster materials to craft?" Lucy shrugged. "This might be a realistic game, but it's still a game, no? Let's just try it."

"Alright. . .that's a fair point."

"I'm gonna have to use the weapons we planned to sell though."

"That's fine."

Her companion finally agreed, sending her her [Bronze Sword] and equipping her new weapons, shifting the location of her sheaths to her back. Lucy wore her chestplate, switching her dirty-looking old one for the new one that seemed to shine. The only piece of equipment she was now missing were gloves, a helmet, and an extra accessory.

The two exited the dungeon.

LotsChrono

Didn't see the point of dragging out a dungeon we've already been through before into multiple chapters.

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